A look at some of the gutsier and goofier proposed space shuttle missions that might have happened.

But just imagine if they had.

The U.S. space shuttle fleet is set for retirement following the launch of Atlantis, scheduled for mid-July. In all, the fleet will have flown 135 missions, the first in 1981, but there were many more on the drawing board. With scrubbed missions that included daring rescues, in-orbit satellite snatches, and dangerous explosives, you can see why some of these didn’t make the cut. But just imagine if they had.